1 Unfurl the Christian standard!
Lift it manfully on high,
And rally where its shining folds
Wave out against the sky!
Away with weak half-heartedness,
With faithlessness and fear!
Unfurl the Christian standard,
And follow with a cheer!
2 In God’s own name we set it up,
This banner brave and bright,
Uplifted for the cause of Christ,
The cause of truth and right;
The cause that none can overthrow,
The cause that must prevail,
Because the promise of the Lord
Can never, never fail!
3 Now, who is on the Lord’s side, who?
Come, throng His battlefield.
Be strong, and show that ye are men!
Come forth with sword and shield!
What peace, while traitorous evil
Stalks in false array of light?
What peace, while enemies of Christ
Are gathering for the fight?
4 Unfurl the Christian standard,
With firm and fearless hands!
For no pale flag of compromise
With Error’s legion bands,
And no faint hearted flag of truce
With Mischief and with Wrong,
Should lead the soldiers of the Cross,
The faithful and the strong.
5 Unfurl the Christian standard,
And follow through the strife
The noble army who have won
The martyr’s crown of life;
Our ancestors could die for truth,
Could brave the deadly glow,
And shall we let the standard fall,
And yield it to the foe?
6 But if ye dare not hold it fast,
Yours only is the loss,
For it shall be victorious,
This Standard of the Cross!
It shall not suffer, though ye rest
Beneath your sheltering trees,
And cast away the victor’s crown
For love of timid ease.
7 The Lord of Hosts, in whom alone
Our weakness shall be strong,
Shall lead us on to conquest
With a mighty battle song;
And soon the warfare shall be past,
The glorious triumph won,
The kingdoms of the world shall be
The kingdoms of His Son!
Source: The Cyber Hymnal #10061
Havergal, Frances Ridley, daughter of the Rev. W. H. Havergal, was born at Astley, Worcestershire, Dec. 14, 1836. Five years later her father removed to the Rectory of St. Nicholas, Worcester. In August, 1850, she entered Mrs. Teed's school, whose influence over her was most beneficial. In the following year she says, "I committed my soul to the Saviour, and earth and heaven seemed brighter from that moment." A short sojourn in Germany followed, and on her return she was confirmed in Worcester Cathedral, July 17, 1853. In 1860 she left Worcester on her father resigning the Rectory of St. Nicholas, and resided at different periods in Leamington, and at Caswall Bay, Swansea, broken by visits to Switzerland, Scotland, and North Wales. She died… Go to person page >
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